Hitler

A Biography

By: Ian Kershaw

Narrated by: Alan Robertson

Length: 46 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Hailed as the most compelling biography of the German dictator yet written, Ian Kershaw's Hitler brings us closer than ever before to the heart of its subject's immense darkness. From his illegitimate birth in a small Austrian village to his fiery death in a bunker under the Reich chancellery in Berlin, Adolf Hitler left a murky trail, strewn with contradictory tales and overgrown with self-created myths. One truth prevails: the sheer scale of the evils that he unleashed on the world has made him a demonic figure without equal in the 20th century.

Ian Kershaw's Hitler brings us closer than ever before to the character of the bizarre misfit in his 30-year ascent from a Viennese shelter for the indigent to uncontested rule over the German nation that had tried and rejected democracy in the crippling aftermath of World War I. With extraordinary vividness, Kershaw recreates the settings that made Hitler's rise possible: the virulent anti-Semitism of prewar Vienna, the crucible of a war with immense casualties, the toxic nationalism that gripped Bavaria in the 1920s, the undermining of the Weimar Republic by extremists of the Right and the Left, the hysteria that accompanied Hitler's seizure of power in 1933 and then mounted in brutal attacks by his storm troopers on Jews and others condemned as enemies of the Aryan race.

In an account drawing on many previously untapped sources, Hitler metamorphoses from an obscure fantasist, a "drummer" sounding an insistent beat of hatred in Munich beer halls, to the instigator of an infamous failed putsch and, ultimately, to the leadership of a ragtag alliance of right-wing parties fused into a movement that enthralled the German people.

©1998, 2000, 2008 Ian Kershaw (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

I am not a German speaker, but...

...I am sympathetic to reviewers who have singled out the German pronunciation of the narrator as a stumbling block to enjoying this audiobook. However, as a non-German speaker, I am free to enjoy all that is good about this audiobook. The timbre, cadence, and expressivity of the narrator's voice all added greatly to my enjoyment of this audiobook. It would be a shame to miss this simply because of less-than-idiomatic German pronunciation. Here are some reasons why:

Firstly, the book itself is one of the most scholarly biographies of Hitler yet written, and will likely remain so for decades to come.

Secondly, at the time of this writing, there are no other audio versions of this book available.

Thirdly, this book is in English. True, the subject matter is German, but the overwhelming majority of the words in this book are in English. Therefore, the mispronounced German words make up a very small percentage of the total content of this audiobook. So, besides being offended by the mangling of some German words by the narrator, as some German-speaking reviewers are, it is still entirely possible to completely understand and enjoy the content of the book, in so much as one can "enjoy" a book about Hitler's life.

Fourthly, I have enjoyed numerous audiobooks written in English that were narrated by people for whom English was not their first language. This means that some of the words were not pronounced as idiomatically as a native English speaker would. Did it prevent me from enjoying the book? Of course not. My command of English is not so flimsy that I cannot figure out what is being said, even if the pronunciation of some of the words is wrong.

Should the publisher have had a native German speaker check the finished product for correct pronunciation, as some reviewers have suggested? Possibly, but that is probably an expense most audiobook publishers cannot afford. Perhaps for a major celebrity tell-all book, but not for a biography, regardless of how good it is. I have known people who narrate audiobooks. It is not how they earn a living. It doesn't pay enough. It is a sideline. In other words, audiobooks are probably not the sort of big-budget operation that can afford the kind of quality control that would allow for a native German-speaking pronunciation-checker on the payroll. But, that's just a guess on my part.

Long winded, but complete

Would you consider the audio edition of Hitler to be better than the print version?

43 hours...yes...43 hours. Took me 2 months of 30 minute commutes to finish this doozy. Was a good, detailed history of how Hitler came to power and how he really should have been the joke of town who died reading Soldier of Fortune magazine, while talking about what he 'should have done'.

My biggest issue with the book is that you need to know some of the setup for Germany's government or you'll wonder what the auther is talking about. Google was my friend. Many central elements in the book (things like 'the reichstag', 'Wehrmacht' or even why they called it the 3rd Reich (what was a 'reich')) are never covered, so you're on your own to understand whats going on when you get to those parts.

Overall, a good book. BIG (and trimmed from the first version), but worth the time. Just wish more time had been spent on the setup and less time repeating why he hated the Jews or that people were 'working toward the Fuhrer'.

What three words best describe Alan Robertson’s voice?

monotone

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hitler - Part VIII

absolutely awesome

I loved this book. I learned every time I listened. I recommend it thoroughly. i'm glad that i didnt choose Mein Kampf. This book explained the truths and fictions behind hitlers book that i would have never known otherwise.

Epic in scope

My father grew up in Nazi Germany and turned 20 years old 3 weeks after Germany surrendered. Understandably, he does not often speak of that past, so any books I can find that help explain what his experiences were back then are fascinating to me. This book, of all biographies I've read about Hitler, gave me much more insight into the man and his actual rule of Germany than any other.

A brilliant achievement

And read in a dramatic and engrossing way. Even if you think you know Hitler's story, this compelling, detailed, remorseless account will shake the reader to the core. The scale and depth of the support for Hitler's rise and his heinous racism, especially toward the Jews, defies any rational understanding. But this book will enable you to understand the facts, nuances and undercurrents to a degree unimaginable before you have read-or in this case, listened to-Kershaw's account.

Fantastic Biography

Very well researched biography. The author made it very interesting & the reading performance was top notch.

Beautiful book. Bad German pronunciation.

A masterful book. Beautiful reading voice, but ... couldn't the narrator have been taught proper German pronunciation? If one pronounces Lebensraum as Liebensraum it means "loving space", not "living space". Etcetera.

Excellent Biography of a Megalomaniac...

Would you consider the audio edition of Hitler to be better than the print version?

For me to sit down and read the print version of this work would be impossible, listening for while driving to my various appointments made completing this work possible.

long but good

So many details you wouldn't think about. in the end, he was just a spoiled little brat who knew how to manipulate people.

Hitler

I found this book a very comprehensive book on the subject of Adolf Hitler. Anyone wishing to delve into the facts of this topic should listen to this book.